How To Convert PDF To Editable Word Doc For Free & Safely

make money onlineHave you ever wondered how to convert a pdf to an editable word doc for free?

I have and the result brought all sorts of problems with it.

Before I get into that you might be wondering why you would need to convert a pdf into a word document in the first place.

Well, you might have a PLR pdf report that didn’t come with a source file or you can’t find it and you want to edit the pdf.

You might want to add your name to it as the author, add some information about yourself to personalize it, add some more information, correct grammar or spelling mistakes, update it or simply make it your own.

All this is very important if you want your pdf to go viral which I talked about in my last post about viral reports.

Why did I need a free pdf to word doc converter?

I recently bought a special offer from a marketer on a Skype Group where he set you up with a squeeze/sales funnel that guaranteed a 40% or more optin rate for any IM niche you choose. He had excellent testimonials so I decided to go for it as I wanted a new squeeze/sales funnel.

I find it takes me a really long time to set these things up myself so I thought it was worth the outlay.

I did specify, when I sent him the details of the niche I wanted the free report for, that I needed to have the source file so I could personalize it but I ended up with a pdf and no source file.  He said didn’t notice that I specified that.

Dilemma! What now? Ask for a refund or find a way to convert the pdf to an editable word doc for free?

I know there are some paid for convertors you can use but I didn’t want to spend more on this than I already had and I don’t have the luxury of Acrobat Professional.

I did a a search for how to convert a pdf to an editable Word doc for free and got a ton of results.

There are three types of free pdf to word convertors

1. Online convertors
2. Pdf converter software
3. Pdf file extension

1. Online pdf to Word Convertors

The last time I tried to convert a pdf to word which was about a year ago I used an online converter and had problems editing the word document. I just couldn’t get it to look right. It had got some sort of glitch in it so I gave up and looked for another one.

This time I ended up downloading a computer virus when I received the file so I was not about to use an online convertor again.

With online convertors you browse for the pdf you want to convert, upload it and you eventually get sent an email that contains the link to download it.

One disadvantage of this system is that Uploading very large files takes a lot of time and can be very inconvenient.

If you are going to use this system it would be best to use one that others have used and recommend.

If I don’t mention it here then I am sure that someone will leave me a comment that you can also convert and edit a pdf to Word on Google Docs but it will only take files up to 2MB. Also some maketers say it does not produce good results.

2. PDF-Word converter software

There are many free software that you can use to convert pdf to word documents.

Just like online pdf converters, pdf software also requires you to browse and upload your pdf file for editing. The only difference between the two is that you can use pdf converter software at any time irrespective of internet connectivity.

Some I looked at are, in fact, just 14 day trials which is fine if you just want it for a one off. When you use these the documents they produce often contain watermarks so are of no real use.

I did find one that I downloaded but discovered that it also installed something else that I hadn’t bargained for!

When I opened my browser instead of my familiar Firefox I discovered that it was now My Search Dial and I had an added toolbar.

When I closed it down I got all sort of ads popping up behind it.

According to  botcrawl.com ” My Search Dial, or Start.MySearchDial virus is malware categorized as a browser hijacker that promotes itself as an internet browser add-on and extension called the MySearchDial Toolbar, allegedly used to “improve your search experience” but instead is known to change internet browser settings without permission, or entrap users to unethical terms. Collected information may also be used in telephone phishing attacks and extortion schemes”.

Oh boy, just what I need!

As I researched it more I can across a FAQ page on the My Search Dial site which explains how to get rid of it so I thought it could not be that bad.

I followed the instructions and thankfully was was able to remove it with no apparent harm done.

The creators of this claim that the toolbar is not malware but others claim that the toolbar serves as the entry point for malware and viruses.

I was about to give up as this stage but after a bit more searching to see what converters others were recomending I found www.freepdfsolutions.com/

I was able to download the converter  software from this site without any problems, very easily converted my pdf to a word document and edit it amnd convert it back to a pdf although the converter does not do that for you.

3. PDF file extension

I would just mention this for completeness here although I fully admit I don’t know much about it as I don’t use Open Office.

These are file extensions that are downloaded and installed in the Open Office software.

They can apparently be little bit complex to install and use. Not for me then!

So if you are ever have cause to wonder how to convert a pdf to a Word Doc for free I hope you will remeber my warnings.

Have you ever needed to convert a pdf to a word document? If so what type of converter did you use? If you have any horror stories share them with my readers in the comments.

If you thought this article was useful don’t forget to share it. Thanks 🙂

8 thoughts on “How To Convert PDF To Editable Word Doc For Free & Safely”

  1. This is One of the things that veryone wants to do and I have bought many Premium Tools For This too and thnxx for your iNformative post on this topic.

  2. Hi Sandy,

    I believe the easiest solution for this problem is an online converter. Maybe it is the only solution if you want a free converter. But, as you said, we have to be careful. I’ve also ended up with a computer virus once. The other solution is an expensive software, but I think no one is ready to pay for software and use it once or maybe twice a year. So, my advice is – do a good research before you decide to use some of those online converters.
    There is one more solution for this problem, but I am not sure everybody will like it. It is a software for editing a pdf file. It is much less accurate then editing a doc file in Word, but it can get the job done.

    1. Hi Pete,

      The problem with online convertors is that in many cases you have to wait to receive your document by email. This can take time that you may not have. The other problem I found was that you do not alwyas get a document that you can edit the way you want due to the formatting that is out in during the conversion. If you know of one that produces the document in an instant and is truly editable then that’s great.

      Thanks for your input.

      Sandy

  3. Hi Sandy,

    I’ve had to do this just a month or so ago. I used an online converter but didn’t have any problems, or at least not to my knowledge. I don’t remember it being emailed to me though. Apparently I didn’t bookmark it, that was silly, or I would have left you the link.

    Actually I use this site to convert music files for my dad’s site – I think this link would work for what you are looking for – http://document.online-convert.com/convert-to-docx – I’ve never had any problems with them for any type of conversion – no spyware or anything like that 🙂

    Linda

  4. Hello sandy !
    Great post. I was just thinking is it possible to convert PDF to editable word document. Well I got what exactly I needed. I didn’t have to search a lot. And you made it possible.
    Thanks a lot to you.

  5. Thanks Sandy for this valuable information.
    I think that online converters are the most used as they ask nothing but the file to be converted.

  6. Hi Adrienne,

    Yes, you really have to be so careful when you use these online services or download software. The first time it happened our IT guy set me us with a seperate admin area for downloads so that any viruses that came with them would not infect my files. Nevertheless you cannot be too careful as these hackers or virus creators get more cunning.

    Sandy

  7. Thanks Sandy,

    A very useful topic. I have only once needed to convert a PDF back to word, but as it was a very simple document I think I did a copy and paste. Nice to have the name of two programs that will do it.

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